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Scott Wittman

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BIO

Wittman was raised in Nanuet, New York, graduated from Nanuet Senior High School in 1972 and attended Emerson College in Boston for two years before leaving to pursue a career in musical theatre in New York City. While directing a show for a Greenwich Village club he met songwriter and composer Marc Shaiman, and the two became collaborators and professional partners. While Shaiman wrote for television shows, including Saturday Night Live, Wittman directed concerts for such artists as Bette Midler, Christine Ebersole, Raquel Welch, Dame Edna Everage, and Lypsinka, among others.



In 2002, Shaiman and Wittman wrote the music and lyrics for the musical Hairspray, which won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics, the Tony Award for Best Original Score, and a Grammy Award. In addition to Hairspray, Wittman conceived, wrote lyrics for, and directed Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me and conceived and directed Matters of the Heart, a solo concert by Patti LuPone in 2000.

Shaiman and Wittman worked on Catch Me If You Can, a musical adaptation of the 2002 Steven Spielberg film, together with Terrence McNally. The musical opened on Broadway in April 2011. They again worked together on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the Musical.

In 2011, Hairspray was performed at Nanuet Senior High School, where Wittman attended high school.

In 2013, Wittman and Marc Shaiman co-wrote the score for Bombshell, a musical about Marilyn Monroe within the context of the NBC television show Smash. A soundtrack was released later that same year.

Wittman and Shaiman collaborated in 2018 on Mary Poppins Returns where Wittman wrote the lyrics for nine of the tracks listed. He and Shaiman were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song for the song "The Place Where Lost Things Go".

In 2021, Wittman and Shaiman wrote a song entitled "Save the City" for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in-universe Broadway production, titled Rogers: The Musical featured in the first episode of Hawkeye, "Never Meet Your Heroes". It was released as a single on November 24, the day the episode became available on Disney+.

In February 2021, it was announced that Wittman and Shaiman were writing songs for a new musical adaptation of Some Like It Hot, due on Broadway in 2022, with a book by Amber Ruffin and Matthew Lopez.

Photos

Productions

SmashSmash
 
[Broadway, 2025]
Music
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Non Eq)Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Non Eq)
 
[US Tour, 2021] [Replacement]
Lyricist [Replacement]
Charlie and the Chocolate FactoryCharlie and the Chocolate Factory
 
[US Tour, 2018] [Replacement]
Lyrics[Replacement]
Martin Short: Fame Becomes MeMartin Short: Fame Becomes Me
 
[Broadway, 2006]
Director
Patti LuPone: Matters of the Heart
 
[Broadway, 2000]
Director
Patti LuPone on Broadway
 
[Broadway, 1995]
Director
The White Devil
 
[Off-Broadway, 1980]
Music Consultant

Writing

Hairspray
Lyricist
Livin' Dolls
Bookwriter/Composer/Lyricist

Awards and Nominations


winner
BroadwayWorld Awards - 2023 - Best Original Score

Scott WittmanSome Like It Hot


winner
Drama Desk Awards - 2023 - Outstanding Lyrics

Scott WittmanSome Like it Hot


winner
Outer Critics Circle Awards - 2023 - Outstanding New Score

Scott WittmanSome Like It Hot

Tony Awards - 2023 - Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre

Scott WittmanSome Like It Hot

Drama Desk Awards - 2011 - Outstanding Lyrics

Scott Wittman, Catch Me if You Can

Drama Desk Awards - 2006 - Outstanding Lyrics

Scott Wittman, Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me


winner
Drama Desk Awards - 2003 - Outstanding Lyrics

Scott Wittman, Hairspray


winner
New York Drama Critics Circle Awards - 2003 - Best Musical

Scott Wittman, Hairspray


winner
Tony Awards - 2003 - Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre

Scott Wittman, Hairspray

Videos

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News


CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY Comes to The Belmont Theatre Photo
CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY Comes to The Belmont Theatre
by Stephi Wild - Nov 24, 2025

The Belmont Theatre will present Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Musical Comedy-your golden ticket to holiday entertainment for the entire family! The show will run in December.
Interview: Theatre Life with Mark Binns Photo
Interview: Theatre Life with Mark Binns
by Elliot Lanes - Nov 21, 2025

Today’s subject Mark Binns is currently living his theatre life on the road as the Musical Director for the National Tour of Some Like it Hot. The show will be here in DC at the National Theatre beginning November 25th and continuing through December 7th.
Review: SOME LIKE IT HOT at Ohio Theatre Photo
Review: SOME LIKE IT HOT at Ohio Theatre
by Paul Batterson - Nov 21, 2025

At first glance, SOME LIKE IT HOT might seem to fall into the “If it’s not broken, don’t try to fix it” category of entertainment. The traveling musical production runs Nov. 18-23 at the Ohio Theatre (39 E. State Street in downtown Columbus).
Review: SOME LIKE IT HOW at Overture Photo
Review: SOME LIKE IT HOW at Overture
by Scott Rawson - Nov 13, 2025

Some Like it Hot, set in the 1930’s during prohibition and segregation, was a delight to behold.
Review: SOME LIKE IT HOT at BROADWAY SAN JOSE Photo
Review: SOME LIKE IT HOT at BROADWAY SAN JOSE
by Linda Hodges - Oct 22, 2025

San Jose is turning up the heat with SOME LIKE IT HOT! It bursts onto the stage in a blaze of jazz, joy and unapologetic flair. With dazzling choreography, comedy, and a story that balances the 1930s Prohibition era with 21st-century heart, this Broadway tour redefines what musical comedy can be.
CATCH ME IF YOU CAN Comes to the Colony Theatre in 2026 Photo
CATCH ME IF YOU CAN Comes to the Colony Theatre in 2026
by Stephi Wild - Oct 22, 2025

The Colony Theatre has announced a new production of Catch Me If You Can, the musical, in 2026. Learn more about the upcoming production and how to get tickets here!
Review: Tony-Winning SOME LIKE IT HOT Musical Adaptation Amuses at Segerstrom Center Photo
Review: Tony-Winning SOME LIKE IT HOT Musical Adaptation Amuses at Segerstrom Center
by Michael Quintos - Oct 14, 2025

Nominated for 13 Tony Awards, the 2022 musical adaptation SOME LIKE IT HOT is a surprisingly delightful, hilariously fun, and gleefully silly musical comedy that also has an endearingly open-minded new twist that re-contextualizes the movie's main raison d'être into something more empowering and thoughtful. The infectiously joyful show's marvelous touring production—directed and choreographed with rousing, kinetic energy by Casey Nicholaw direct from its Broadway origins—continues performances at OC's Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, CA through October 19, 2025.
Tickets to SOME LIKE IT HOT at The Kravis Center to go on Sale This Week Photo
Tickets to SOME LIKE IT HOT at The Kravis Center to go on Sale This Week
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Oct 14, 2025

Single tickets for the upcoming engagement of SOME LIKE IT HOT, showing January 6–11 at The Raymond F. Kravis Center, will go on sale this week. Learn more and see how to purchase tickets.
Review: HAIRSPRAY at Scherr Forum Theatre Photo
Review: HAIRSPRAY at Scherr Forum Theatre
by Cary Ginell - Oct 13, 2025

What did our critic think of HAIRSPRAY at Scherr Forum Theatre? 5-Star Theatricals' production of Hairspray, which opened October 10 at the Scherr Forum Theatre in Thousand Oaks, is the bubbly, effervescent morality tale about civil rights in Baltimore in the early ’60s that won Tony awards for best musical, book, and score.
Tickets on Sale Next Week for SOME LIKE IT HOT Canadian Premiere Photo
Tickets on Sale Next Week for SOME LIKE IT HOT Canadian Premiere
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Oct 9, 2025

SOME LIKE IT HOT will make its Canadian premiere at the CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre this winter. Learn more about the North American tour and see how to purchase tickets.
SOME LIKE IT HOT is Coming to Citizens Opera House This Winter Photo
SOME LIKE IT HOT is Coming to Citizens Opera House This Winter
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Oct 8, 2025

Tickets are now on sale for SOME LIKE IT HOT in Boston. Performances will take place at the Citizens Opera House this winter. Learn more and see how to purchase tickets.
Video: JJ Niemann Sings 'Goodbye' in CATCH ME IF YOU CAN at Marriott Theatre Photo
Video: JJ Niemann Sings 'Goodbye' in CATCH ME IF YOU CAN at Marriott Theatre
by Michael Major - Oct 8, 2025

Watch a video of JJ Niemann performing 'Goodbye' from Catch Me If You Can at Marriott Theatre! The score is by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman (Hairspray, Some Like it Hot).
CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY Will Be Staged on the Royal Caribbean's Legend of t Photo
CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY Will Be Staged on the Royal Caribbean's Legend of the Seas
by Stephi Wild - Oct 7, 2025

Join us as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory sails on Royal Caribbean's Legend of the Seas, bringing magic and fun to the high seas!
Patti LuPone Brings MATTERS OF THE HEART to BroadwaySF Photo
Patti LuPone Brings MATTERS OF THE HEART to BroadwaySF
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Oct 6, 2025

Join three-time Tony Award winner Patti LuPone for MATTERS OF THE HEART at BroadwaySF's Golden Gate Theatre on March 1, 2026. Don't miss it!
Interview: Marissa Winokur And Garrett Clayton of HAIRSPRAY at Bank Of America Perfor Photo
Interview: Marissa Winokur And Garrett Clayton of HAIRSPRAY at Bank Of America Performing Arts Center
by Melissa Heckscher - Oct 3, 2025

BroadwayWorld talks with Tony Award-winning Marissa Winokur and former Disney heartthrob Garrett Clayton, the director and co-star of the 5-Star Theatricals production of Hairspray in Thousand Oaks.
Review: Everyone Will Like SOME LIKE IT HOT at the Eccles Theater Photo
Review: Everyone Will Like SOME LIKE IT HOT at the Eccles Theater
by Tyler Hinton - Oct 2, 2025

Everyone will like the top drawer national tour of SOME LIKE IT HOT, currently playing at the Eccles Theater in Salt Lake City. The classy design, tight choreography, and pastiche score recall the musicals of yesteryear to perfection while casting light on the story’s themes and dialogue through a stirring contemporary lens.
Video: Extended Highlights from CATCH ME IF YOU CAN at Marriott Theatre Photo
Video: Extended Highlights from CATCH ME IF YOU CAN at Marriott Theatre
by Joshua Wright - Sep 30, 2025

Get an extended first look at Marriott Theatre's Catch Me If You Can, the delightfully entertaining musical comedy based on the true story about chasing your dreams and not getting caught. JJ Niemann make his Marriott Theatre debut as the charming con artist, Frank Abagnale Jr.
The Museum of Broadway to Host SMASH and BOOP! October Events; New Costumes, Artifact Photo
The Museum of Broadway to Host SMASH and BOOP! October Events; New Costumes, Artifacts Added to Collection
by A.A. Cristi - Sep 25, 2025

The Museum of Broadway has announced new additions to its costume and artifact collection, now on view in New York City. Among the highlights are Nicole Scherzinger’s Norma Desmond costume and more.
Review: ROALD DAHL'S CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY at Texarkana Repertory Company Photo
Review: ROALD DAHL'S CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY at Texarkana Repertory Company
by Theresa Bertram - Sep 19, 2025

What did our critic think of ROALD DAHL'S CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY at Texarkana Repertory Company?
Marc Shaiman to Release New Career-Spanning Memoir in 2026 Photo
Marc Shaiman to Release New Career-Spanning Memoir in 2026
by Josh Sharpe - Sep 18, 2025

Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist Marc Shaiman, co-writer of such shows as Hairspray, Some Like It Hot, and Smash, will release a new memoir, diving into his five-decade career on Broadway and Hollywood.
More News

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How many shows has Scott Wittman written?

Scott Wittman has written 7 shows including Hairspray (Lyricist), Livin' Dolls (Bookwriter/Composer/Lyricist), Patti LuPone: Matters of the Heart (Conceiver), Catch Me If You Can (Lyricist), Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me (Conceiver), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Composer), Some Like It Hot (Lyricist).

What awards has Scott Wittman been nominated for?

Best Original Score (BroadwayWorld Awards) for Some Like It Hot, Outstanding Lyrics (Drama Desk Awards) for Some Like it Hot, Outstanding New Score (Outer Critics Circle Awards) for Some Like It Hot, Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre (Tony Awards) for Some Like It Hot, Outstanding Lyrics (Drama Desk Awards) for Catch Me if You Can, Outstanding Lyrics (Drama Desk Awards) for Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me, Outstanding Lyrics (Drama Desk Awards) for Hairspray, Best Musical (New York Drama Critics Circle Awards) for Hairspray and Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre (Tony Awards) for Hairspray.

What awards has Scott Wittman won?

Scott Wittman has won the Best Original Score award at the BroadwayWorld Awards for Some Like It Hot. He received Outstanding Lyrics at the Drama Desk Awards for both Some Like It Hot and Hairspray. Additionally, he was honored with Outstanding New Score at the Outer Critics Circle Awards for Some Like It Hot. Wittman also earned Best Musical from the New York Drama Critics Circle Awards for Hairspray, as well as the Tony Award for Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre for Hairspray.

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